Universities

Rowan University

The Documentaries

$5 for Guys. Girls Free

A re-enacted close-up of the college generation and how quickly a typical night out can go wrong. The story is led by a Spoken Word artist and complemented by a sexual assault Psychologist. We took an interesting twist on the form of documentary and showed the making of this re-enactment. We hope everyone will learn something from our message and most importantly stop a tragic situation before it happens.

Katalyst

This story follows Katya, an amateur artist and survivor of sexual assault, as she goes on a journey of healing. She comes into contact with other survivors and takes steps with them to overcome the trauma caused by her assault tears earlier.

Slutwalk. A Day in Her Heels

A look at the Global phenomenon of Slutwalk. After a local police chief accused college women of dressing like sluts, the students created a demonstration movement called Slutwalk. It is growing and getting attention.

Behind the Scenes (Coming Soon!)

We travelled to Toronto, Canada, Philadelphia, PA, Connecticut, and all over southern New Jersey to find our subjects and capture their stories. Our docudrama included a cast of over 20 students, and our research included input from the psychology, art, and music departments. We were visited by five award-winning documentarians (Mona Nicoara, Connie Bottinelli, Valerie Gibson, Alan Rosenthal, and Huixia Lua) and Tony Stewart, a master lighting and camera craftsman. A student composer and musician, Todd Fox, created original music for all three documentaries.

Meet the Students

Dee Lugo | 20, Producer, Radio/TV/Film major

“I want to get the notion of It Can’t Happen To Me out of girl’s heads. I want them to see how a bad decision can make an innocent night turn into tragic mistake.”

Jessica Fields | 22, Spoken Word Artist, RTF Major

“Your voice is a powerful tool. I love spoken word and this project speaks up for everyone who is too scared or too scarred.”

“This project has taught me to be open to new perspectives, because you may be surprised where they lead you.”

Eric Cheavers | 23, Editor and Camera, RTF Major

“Listening to these women and their stories has changed me. I look at my sister and I want her to be safe.”.

John Brietling | 23, Director, Editor, and Camera, RTF Major

“I want these documentaries to transform younger peoples minds so they can realize perpetrators can look like normal people, but in the wrong circumstances, like a frat party gone wrong, guys can manipulate and take advantage of a girl.”

Meredith Carroll | 22. Producer and Camera. RTF Major

“Each day the documentary project meant more and more to me. Not so much about what a potential victim might do, but that it is everyone’s responsibility to educate each other about this horrific epidemic.”

Colin Rooney | 21, Editor, RTF Major

“Working on this project has opened my eyes to the bigger picture of the prevalence of sexual assaults. After participating in Rowan’s Take Back The Night activities this project took on a whole new meaning for me. I see now it can have an impact on people’s lives.”

Matt Wood | 20, Camera, RTF Major

“I’ve seen the long-lasting effects of sexual assault on people. It’s made me realize I’ve got to be an active participant in spreading the messages of prevention and education. It’s not enough to show, we have to tell.”

Zak Veseley | Producer and Director, RTF Major

Working on this project has put a face on an issue I have only seen in TV and the movies. I hope that this documentary will open student’s eyes the way it has opened mine.

Katya Palsi | 23, Documentary Subject, Art and Advertising Major

“This project has validated for me what a huge problem sexual violence is. For so long I felt that I was being overly dramatic or overly sensitive. But through this investigation I have seen the impact it has had on countless lives. I realized, it's not about me - it's about all of us. It's about the fact that unwanted sex is never okay but happens constantly. Someone needs to make a change and I can finally understand that I am not telling my story for petty or selfish reasons; I'm doing this for me, but I am also doing it for everyone else. I'm doing it for all of us. “

Meet the Professors

Diana Nicolae | Professor

Diana Nicolae is an Associate Professor of TV & Documentary production at Rowan University. In her professional career, she has worked as a TV news reporter, a writer for the BBC, an advertising copywriter, and an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose films have screened internationally and on PBS. Her students’ documentaries have screened in film festivals nationally and won many awards, including best student documentary at College Broadcasting Inc’s national competition and the prestigious Cine Eagle award.

Ned Eckhardt | Professor

Ned Eckhardt has made 16 documentaries over a 30-year production and teaching career that includes Emmy-nominated programs for broadcast television and award-winning documentaries. His documentaries for the Odyssey of the Mind organization have been screened in over 20 countries. He is the author of the book Documentary Filmmakers Handbook (2012 McFarland Press).

Keith Brand | Professor

Keith Brand is a Professor of Radio TV Film at Rowan University. He has hosted a music program called Sleepy Hollow on WXPN FM in Philadelphia for the past twenty-six years. Mr. Brand occasionally contributes stories to NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend Edition Saturday. His student audio documentaries have won many awards at the BEA Festival of Media Arts.